Senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly VD Satheesan on Sunday said that the CPI has taken a different stand from that of the CPI-M in the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) case against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter Veena Vijayan because it is apprehensive of being isolated before the public.

Speaking to media persons in Alappuzha on Sunday, Satheesan said CPI-M leaders are coming out in support of the Chief Minister’s daughter out of fear of Pinarayi Vijayan. This, he added, was not the stand the CPI-M took when the  Central agencies filed cases against Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s son Bineesh Kodiyeri.

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He said CPI state secretary Binoy Vishwa had initially supported the Chief Minister’s daughter but changed his stance after a party meeting, driven by apprehension of being isolated in front of the public. It is not known how long Binoy Vishwam will stick to this position, he added.

“CPI leaders do not have a vision, but a weekly stance. They change their position every week. It is not known how long Binoy Vishwa’s present stance will last,” Satheesan said.

On Friday, CPI State Secretary Binoy Viswam said that his party would support the Chief Minister, not his daughter. While acknowledging Veena Vijayan’s right to run a private company, Viswam subtly distanced the CPI from the unfolding legal case. “The CPI stands with Pinarayi Vijayan as the Chief Minister, but not with any individual controversies involving his family,” he said.

Binoy Viswam’s remarks didn’t go down well with CPI-M leaders. State Education Minister V Sivankutty rebuked Binoy Viswam on Saturday, stating that the CPI leader should have raised his concerns at the LDF forum instead of going public. He said that the CPI state secretary need not be worried about Veena’s case as she is fully capable of dealing with it.

Terming the case against Veena as politically motivated, Sivankutty said the LDF and CPI-M fully support the CM in the matter.

Coming out strongly in support of Chief Minister Vijayan, CPI-M state Secretary MV Govindan alleged that the case against Veena Vijayan is part of a larger conspiracy. “There’s a witch-hunt against the Chief Minister by central agencies, sections of the media, and rival political parties. This is no different from the gold smuggling case that fizzled out,” Govindan said.